Ryan and Matt consider M.I.A.’s Matangi, discussing why music I like is always already “indie,” why the backlash to Matangi makes us want to like the album more, the library of norms of a pop music listener, song structure in pop music, the Matangi leitmotif, the library of fuxing, why M.I.A.’s critics are tools of the man, how structural power really works, and what you should do with the poop on your plate.
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Syllabus
- Matangi by M.I.A. on Rap Genius
- Matangi Review on Pitchfork
- Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
on Amazon
- Blueberry Boat
by The Fiery Furnaces on Amazon
- Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone
by The Unicorns
Haven’t listened yet, but I expect grrat things if/when you discuss dj earworm’s united states of pop 2013 and Lorde’s position as anchor, along with her representation in the title.
It’s pretty great. More even than Lorde, I noticed the use of “We Can’t Stop”, and how the mashup captures the inherently sorrowful character of that song.
This dovetails interestingly with a recent Gawker post “On Smarm”. It defends snark as a counter-agent of smarm, the rhetorical mode of apparent civility, reasonableness, wisdom and maturity to mask craven self-interest, ethical bankruptcy and threatened privilege. Katniss and MIA both employ snark to survive in their respective smarm-pits of the Hunger Games and the hip-hop establishments.